Family of three in hospital after fire

Baltimore firefighters rescued three people during a fire at a West Baltimore rowhouse early yesterday and two of them, including a 14-year-old boy, remained in critical condition last night, a fire department spokesman said.

About 4 a.m., firefighters responding to a one-alarm blaze in the 1900 block of N. Payson St. found a rowhouse with heavy fire and smoke on the first floor and heavy smoke on the second floor. A woman was in a second-floor window, surrounded by smoke, said spokesman, Chief Kevin Cartwright.

Firefighters used a ladder to rescue the woman, identified as Patty Lewis, 49, Cartwright said. As the woman was being brought to the ground, Frank Lewis, 51, jumped out of the second-floor window. He landed on the ladder and firefighters were able to safely bring him to the ground, Cartwright said.

The fire flared out of the windows on the first floor, and firefighters entered and found the boy, Eric Davis, who was unconscious and not breathing, in a rear second-floor bedroom. He had no pulse, Cartwright said.

Outside the house, paramedics were able to revive the teen, but he remains in critical condition at the University of Maryland Medical Center, Cartwright said.

The man and woman suffered from smoke inhalation, and the man also suffered from burns to his face, hands and legs. The man was in critical condition at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, while the woman was in good condition at the University of Maryland Medical Center, Cartwright said.

The cause and origin of the fire had not been determined, but Cartwright said the home had two smoke detectors, at least one of which was working.